Girl · #887 in 2026

Deborah

Deborah is a feminine given name derived from דבורה D'vorah, a Hebrew word meaning "bee". Deborah was a prophetess in the Old Testament Book of Judges. In the United States, the name was most popular from 1950 to 1970, when it was among the 20 most popular names for girls. It was the 25th most common name for women in the United States in the 1990 census. It has since fallen in popularity.

  • English
  • Biblical
  • French
Current Rank
#887
Peak Rank
#2 (1954)
Total Babies
743K
5-Yr Trend
-6%
1880
First Year
2026
Last Year
1954
Peak Year
#2
Peak Rank
743K
Total Count
147
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Deborah

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Deborah is a feminine given name derived from דבורה D'vorah, a Hebrew word meaning "bee". Deborah was a prophetess in the Old Testament Book of Judges. In the United States, the name was most popular from 1950 to 1970, when it was among the 20 most popular names for girls. It was the 25th most common name for women in the United States in the 1990 census. It has since fallen in popularity.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • English
  • Biblical
  • French

The Story of Deborah

American parents first put Deborah on the record books as a baby girl name in 1880, with 12 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1954, when 54,675 Deborahs were born — ranking #3 that year. About 58% of every Deborah on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Deborah ranks #887 for baby girls with 305 births, gradually falling (-6%). All told, over 743K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Deborah

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Deborah. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Notable people named Deborah

A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.

  • All pages with titles beginning with Deborah
  • All pages with titles containing Deborah
  • All pages with titles beginning with Devora
  • All pages with titles containing Devora
  • All pages with titles beginning with Dvora
  • All pages with titles containing Dvora

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Where is Deborah most common?

Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally.

  • United States
    54%
  • United Kingdom
    16%
  • Italy
    13%
  • France
    10%
  • Nigeria
    7%

Source: Nationalize.io . Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts.

Names that sound like Deborah

Phonetically similar names — useful when Deborah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Deborah

What does the name Deborah mean?
Deborah is a feminine given name derived from דבורה D'vorah, a Hebrew word meaning "bee". Deborah was a prophetess in the Old Testament Book of Judges. In the United States, the name was most popular from 1950 to 1970, when it was among the 20 most popular names for girls. It was the 25th most common name for women in the United States in the 1990 census. It has since fallen in popularity.
What is the origin of the name Deborah?
Deborah has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, Biblical, French.
How popular is Deborah in 2026?
In 2026, Deborah ranks #887 among girls' names in the U.S., with 305 babies given the name that year.
When was Deborah most popular?
Deborah reached its peak popularity in 1954, ranking #2 that year with 54,675 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Deborah most popular?
Deborah has historically been most popular in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Deborah.
Is Deborah a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Deborah is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Deborah?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Deborah include Anna, Helen, Susan. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Deborah?
Common variants and related forms of Deborah include Deb, Debbi, Debbie, Debby, Debi, Debra. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

Similar Names

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Anna
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Helen
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Susan
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Amanda
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Hannah
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Amy
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About the name Deborah

Deborah is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 743K births in the dataset. Deborah's peak popularity came in 1954 when it ranked #2. Use the chart and map above to compare Deborah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.